What is a Good Life? #114
The Essence Of Freedom with Andrew Alexander
On the 114th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Andrew Alexander. Andrew is a husband, father, and grandfather, as well as a teacher, educator, and writer. Writing about intergenerational relationships in learning and the significance of education in a time of uncertainty.
For nearly forty years he worked with students in independent, informal, progressive/alternative schools, including Brockwood Park School - founded by the educator and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti.
In this insightful conversation, we delve into the nuanced nature of freedom, exploring its relationship with responsibility and the importance of mutual respect. We discuss how societal narratives often distort the understanding of freedom, leading to an illusion of individualism that neglects the interconnectedness of human relationships.
This conversation is an invitation to reconsider what we think about freedom, a theme deeply connected to our sense of a good life.
The weekly clip from the podcast (2 mins), my weekly reflection (2 mins), the full podcast (70 mins), and the weekly questions all follow below.
1. Weekly Clip from the Podcast
2. My weekly reflection
When I initially privately interviewed 120 people around this question of a good life, the two most frequently given answers were not that surprising—relationships (family, friends, community, etc.) and health.
The third most popular answer was freedom. Given that the pandemic was rarely mentioned in relation to freedom, I was surprised by how frequently this word came up (≈ 40% of interviews).
The most common context for it was the desire to have autonomy and choice over how we spend our time, freedom in terms of work and money, and freedom from societal expectations. Freedom was often brought up in an aspirational sense rather than as a present state of experience.
As Andrew mentions in this interview, he senses that the word "freedom" was hijacked at some point. With the youth-driven movements of the 1960s emerging, a new demographic for advertisers arose too, and much of the messaging around freedom became about the individual—getting and doing whatever you wanted.
There is a lovely sentiment that Andrew shares in this interview, acknowledging a link he sees between freedom and responsibility—that with freedom comes great responsibility, that freedom is, in some ways, responsibility in action.
Now, the essence of freedom here is not simply the choice to do what you want—as Andrew points out, is it really freedom to do what you want if you still deeply care what others think of you? If you live a life filled with attachments, jealousy, and fear?
Does your sense of freedom include a freedom from the self and your conditioning?
A freedom from the prison cell we often build by creating a public image of ourselves?
Earlier in the interview, I suggested that with making our own choices comes great responsibility because now there is nothing else to blame—no culture, family, or conditioning—but really, this is still freedom at a shallower level.
When Andrew mentioned that he sees mutual respect and listening as integral parts of freedom, he opened up a new perspective for me. Not one that was alien to me, but one that I hadn’t considered in the context of freedom and thus the responsibility that comes with it.
When we discussed the relationship between freedom and fear, I suggested the act of paying attention as an antidote of sorts to that fear—not to banish its existence, but to be comfortable with its presence, for it not to dominate or control me.
When considering the role of attention in a freedom from the self or psychologically, it made me think of how, with this attention, comes great responsibility. When you really pay attention in life, the consequences of your actions become so apparent.
You recognise it even if someone you have hurt suggests you haven’t hurt them. You see the many ripples that emanate from the joy you have brought with you. Your observations are not based on the judgements of others but more on how it feels in your heart.
When you pay enough attention, I sense we can feel the subtlety of the heart’s reaction to whatever act has occurred. It is not a case of illegal or legal or the morality of others, but a sensitivity to the felt response of our actions.
This state of attention doesn’t let you get away with anything.
It also invites you into a world of experience you may never have imagined or thought possible, given the often closed and selfish “let me get mine” attitude of our culture—the one we suffer under so much, leading us collectively to places I sense nobody truly wants to go.
But when we experience these states, we can be in little doubt that real freedom comes with great responsibility—to ourselves and to each other. It no longer lets us ignore what we feel and what we are responsible for. It no longer lets us hide our actions behind the games of the mind or our culture.
If my freedom restricts another’s, are we still really talking about freedom?
To explore one-on-one coaching with me
3. Full Episode - The Essence Of Freedom with Andrew Alexander - What is a Good Life? #114
4. This week’s Questions
What does freedom mean to you?
As per the clip, how have we as people not learned to live in harmony with one another?
About Me
I am a coach, podcast host, and writer, based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I started this project in 2021, for which I’ve now interviewed over 250 people. I’m not looking to prescribe universal answers, more that the guests’ lines of inquiry, musings, experiences, and curiosities spark your own inquiry into what the question means to you. I am also trying to share more genuine expressions of the human experience and more meaningful conversations.
If you’re interested in exploring your own self-inquiry through one-on-one coaching, joining my 5-week Silent Conversations group courses, or fostering greater trust, communication, and connection within your leadership teams, or simply reaching out, feel free to contact me via email or LinkedIn.